New discoveries provide scientific proofs of the Mahabharata

In the field of Ancient History, there is currently great excitement about new discoveries in India’s Baghpat district in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Using state-of-the-art scientific techniques and old fashioned excavation methods, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) recently announced the discovery of chariots, swords, daggers and several other artifacts that are dated 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ (2,000 B.C.). This is the first discovery of ancient chariots in India.

The ASI discovery is very important for several reasons. The discovery provides the first set of archeological (scientific) proofs of the Mahabharata, probably Hinduism’s greatest epic, and confirmation of an important component of ancient Indian history. The discovery of the chariots, royal burial pits, swords inlaid with copper, daggers, mirrors with copper, and highly decorative coffin covers in Bhaghpat district in Sanauli village in UP means that people of that era belonged to the warrior class and led highly sophisticated lives.

First, the time frame of 2,000 B.C. matches the age of the Mahabharata. The ASI noted: “It is confirmed that they were a warrior class. The swords have copper-covered hilts and a medial ridge, making it strong enough for warfare. We have also found shields, a torch and daggers.”

Second, the discovery site, Baghpat, has prominence in the Mahabharata. Baghpat is well known as the village asked for by the Pandava brothers from the politically corrupt Duryodhana to avoid the Mahabharata war. This did not happen, and the rest, as they say, is history. Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava brother, was supposed to be the rightful inheritor of the throne, not Duryodhana.

In addition, not far from the discovery site is the famous Lakshagraha (the house of lacquer), also prominently narrated in the Mahabharata text. It was the house that Duryodhana ordered Purochana, the architect, to build. The lacquer made it flammable on purpose. Since the Pandava brothers were exiled by Duryodhana for 13 years, Duryodhana, according to the Mahabharata epic, at a certain point in time, invited the Pandavas to stay in the Lakshagraha, and in due course set it on fire with the intention of killing them. However, the plot to annihilate the Pandava brothers failed, because they escaped upon the intervention of the wise Vidura, their uncle, who was Prime Minister at the time.

Further, the current ASI discovery in Baghpat district in UP adds another fatal blow to the long-debunked Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) that some of India’s zealous leftist historians still shamefully promote. The AIT states that Vedic/Hindu culture was brought to India by invading Aryans from outside of India.

One thing that leftist historians who support the AIT claim is that horses were brought in to India by the invading Aryans around 1,000 B.C. The current evidence shows horse-ridden chariots dating back to 2,000 B.C.

Way back in 2003, the eminent Hindu scholar Swami Aksharananda wrote, “Even in Guyana, Black cultural activists have invoked it (AIT), claiming that the supposed Indian, and more specifically Hindu, attitude toward Blacks stems from the Aryan invasion of India. It has, not infrequently, been proffered as justification for the violence against Indians. In the present case, the supposed Indian preference for lighter skin dates back to the Aryan invasion of India.” (Stabroek News, June 17, 2003).

The AIT was one of the greatest hoaxes on mankind, and was debunked by genetics, archaeology, satellite studies, and lack of validating evidence in any Hindu or Sanskrit texts, or any references anywhere in the world prior to Max Muller’s invention of it in the mid-19th century. Even Max Muller had to issue a disclaimer about his made up “Aryans”.

In Guyana, among Hindus, stories of the Mahabharata are told in every home, and taan singers have composed several songs depicting events in the Mahabharata that give meaning and dignity to human life. The Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta, which is part of the Mahabharata, is an iconic Sanskrit text that deals with all aspects of human life; for example, action for the welfare of society, fighting for justice, importance of proper education, respect for teachers, charity, Yoga, meditation, living in harmony, etc. The new discoveries by the ASI in Baghpat district, U.P. should bring some degree of pride to the Hindu people of Guyana, who live under constant Christian cultural hegemony.

Prominent Indian rights activist and scholar Ravi Dev has addressed this problem in a series of published articles titled, “Hegemony and Hindu Dharma in the West Indies”.

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Dr. Somdat Mahabir obtained his PhD from New York University, MPH from New York Medical College, MS from New York Institute of Technology, and a Diploma in Cancer Prevention from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

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